I would take the test and not tell my employer. They won’t find out anyway.
#dontletthefearoffailure…
…#begreaterthanyourdesiretosucceed
OP, my opinion doesn’t matter, but given that you spent all this time studying for the exam, you should at least go sit the exam as everyone else has mentioned. I wrote Level 2 more than once. I also don’t have a finance background/degree. The first time, due to my situation at the time, I didn’t have the time to study. By not studying, I literally meant not having cracked open the books. But having paid for the exam, I sat it anyways. Both AM and PM, for no other reason than to provide a small public service. What I found was that things aren’t that bad. Even though i didn’t know most of the material, I was able to make a mental note of what came up on the exam and how concepts were tested. I found that helped in my preparation the following year.
Even though I studied the next year, I still failed again. It took me another try to finally get it.
There are lots of things in life more important than the CFA, and family is definitely on that list.
The decision is yours to make. All the adversity you face on the way to the Charter only makes the achievement that much sweeter.
#helpyourfellowAFers
#lowerthecurve
Hey monkeymath,
The other guys have basically already said what I was going to write so I’ll just give you another perspective.
If your boss is such an ass he might just be trying to play with your psyche now. What I mean is he may have said to you he should fire people if they don’t succeed in clearing the exam on first attempt just to see how you would react and whether you would give up. I know that sounds a little sick but there are people who like playing mental games. Another possibility - he might as well have already forgotten what he has said and now you are beating yourself for nothing. In either case it’s much better to sit for the exam and give it a try. Good luck!
I failed Band 9 last time and seems the band will be much lower this time around. But it can be done and people have done it before us. Lets try our best and think to ourselves “Ï have got this”
You can do it mate. Show up and take the test.
Man I gained 5 kg and my clothes don’t recognize me and refuse to fit on me!
Anyhow, going back to OP, I can’t say I fully comprehend your frustration, but what I’ll say is this whole CFA thing taught me many things (time and stress management above all). If nothing else, I can live the rest of my life more construcitvely, and so should you. And given the fact that over 40% of takers pass the exam, I’m hopeful that it’s not impossible to pass the exam.
Just to give you my assessment of your chance of passing…if you struggle with half of the problem, that means you’re at least comfortable with 40% of the problems and more likely than not get 33% of the problems right.
For the remaining 60% of the problems that you’re not sure, you need to eliminate one answer choice and “guess,” and that will give you the half of 30% of the right answers, which will give you a decent shot at passing the thing (33% + 30%) and move on!
Sit for the exam - I sat in for L1 in June 2014, guessed more than 3/4 of the whole thing (I walked out after less than 2 hours in PM session) and still got a band 8. If you can actually solve a half of the exam…go for it, that’s my 2 cents.
If you’ve already spent 800 hours on this, then you’ve already built yourself a solid foundation.
I’ve posted this somewhere in another thread, but a Wiley instructor on Youtube was saying how a 50-60% on the mock exams can get you that pass on the actual.
Do the mock and some online practice questions and I think you should be okay for the actual!
Suffering from severe anxiety is no small matter. There’s no shame in seeking medical help for this condition. And treatment for anxiety is extremely common - A friend oversees the medical budget for a major institution and you wouldn’t believe the percentage of staff on antidepressants & anti-anxiety meds. What that says about our society is another matter.
Do yourself a favor and make an appointment with a psychiatrist who can help you. Not sitting for the exam this year isn’t going to release the pressure valve in the long run. I’m assuming in saying this that your family emergency isn’t the only reason you’re opting to not sit for the exam - otherwise there would be no need to write about whether you feel prepared or what your boss’s estimation of you might be if you don’t pass. It doesn’t appear that your family emergency is such that you wouldn’t consider sitting for the exam.
Can you PM me the name of your firm? I won’t tell anyone just so curious now. Sounds terrible.
how much time did you ask for? and couldn’t you have made up some other excuse?
If you honestly studied 700-800 hours for L2 and still can’t pass it, then you might possibly have mental problems. Half joking…but seriously, that’s alot of hours, you should be able to pass if you have at least average intelligence with the hours you’ve logged.
^ I’m not surprised - no one that I know in my team ever got time off, they all just happen to fall sick in the run up to the exam. Ahem…
Maybe I missed it but how is not taking the test better than failing in the eyes of your employer? Wouldnt it just inidicate a lack of confidence?
If you know you’re going to fail then the pressure is off and you can try to pull off an unlikely, but still possible, pass. Go for it, good luck.
I had a similar situation a few years ago, but I sat for the exam. I got a result, which helped me prepare this time, and I have a better sense of the logistics/stress level/etc. that should help me on Saturday. It’s worth sitting for the exam for sure.
How do you know the band is going to be lower?
I promised myself I would stay off of AF until after the test, but after seeing such supportive comments from candidates, I’ve gotta put my two cents in. TAKE THE TEST, monkeymath! Don’t give up the chance to experience the real thing. If you’ve put in 800 hours, there’s a good chance you’ll score better than you think. You might even get lucky and pass. I’m in the same boat as you; associate a law firm with very arrogant and demanding lawyers and long hours, and my mocks are between 50 and 56%. I’ve put too much time into this test, however, to give up at this point. If I don’t pass … fine. There’s always next year. Go for it, dude, and don’t look back!!!
I didnt capture the situation well in one sentence. I took a week of PTO for the exam and could’ve lied about the reason but It would’ve been near impossible to hide 400+ hours of free time gone. A lot of us go out drinking together on weekends and that kind of thing so my sudden disappearence would be noticeable. I figured best practice would be to ask for the time 6 months in advance and associate it with a work in progress towards higher education down the road. Sneaking around for that long isnt appealing and a little bit of pressure is great motivation for me anyway. Of course, industry factors have shifted over that period and made the strategy a bit riskier. I wont be gone June 7, but if heads do roll, it doesnt make sense for management to keep me over any peer who has no plans of leaving the industry.
I didnt post all the context before because Im not here to mope. The point is that I made a risky decision just like the OP and now is the time to follow through, not question the past (thats next week). If youre willing to accept the risk/reward you better be willing to commit. Opting out now is no longer a real option.
^ it’s hard to find qualified candidates nowadays and turnover can be rather high at firms.
If you’re good at your job, I wouldn’t assume that you’ll be the first to get sacked - To keep someone around who is just a good in hopes that person chooses to stick around doesn’t make much sense either. But, it’s good that you’re okay w/ moving on if you’re asked to (and even if you’re not.) Transitions always work out for the best in some way.
Sorry to hear that monkeymath! To offer a different perspective than many of the previous posters, who told you to take the test anyway: I last year also decided not to go. I had changed jobs, moved from the UK to Switzerland and then again into another apartment in Switzerland in April-May, so just didn’t get enough time to study during that time. Instead of sitting in a large dark hall for the entire day I figured I could start fresh in few months for the 2015 L2, with way more motivation than if I had actually gone and failed. Had a great day with friends. Indeed started fresh this time around, never feeling like a second time taker. I’m scoring 70-75 in the mocks now and feeling good. Never regretted not going last summer.